Rise of the Uzukage
by Zirocks
Summary: Ten years after the fight between Naruto and Sasuke at the Valley of the End, reports are coming in about the old nation of Uzushiogakure and there are rumours of war...
1. Prologue

**Naruto is believed dead, the Akatsuki have given up and Sasuke never made it to Orochimaru. Ten years later there have been reports of activity throughout the old nation of Uzushiogakure…**

**Prologue**

**Valley Of The End**

Red and purple chakra collided; dust and debris went flying everywhere as the two fought to overpower the other.

'**Come on Kit, you are the Jinchuriki for the Lord of Demons. How dare you let this runt be stronger than you!' **The Kyuubi yelled as he tried to infuse Naruto with more of his chakra, but it was resisted.

'Shut up stupid fox! If you try to give me more I'll explode and we all die!' The Jinchuriki yelled at its host. The Kyuubi said nothing else as Naruto grunted at the strain of holding his Rasengan against Chidori.

The sound of chirping birds intensified as the 'runt' with the purple chakra curling off his body used more, causing sparks to fly at the blond. The Kyuubi's coat of youkai protected him from the sparks but if the Chidori got past his Rasengan, it was over for him. Naruto increased the chakra output, the blue swirling ball of chakra expanded, but it was too much as it enveloped the Chidori causing an explosion that shook the ground as the two ninja were thrown from each other.

Sasuke Uchiha landed on the other side of the ravine, he shook himself to clear his mind and stood up. His Cursed Seal of Heaven burned like hell as it corrupted more of his body, his skin starting to turn grey, webbed-like claw wings grew out of his back and his nose had some kind of black star on it and the chakra, oh how this chakra felt good. Sasuke jumped up onto the stone head of Madara Uchiha, the one who died here while facing Hashirama Senju to gain control of Konohagakure no Sato. He revelled in the power of the cursed seal. He was finally powerful.

Naruto lay face down on the ground after falling through all the branches of the tree he landed in, making his landing safer.

'Ouch, that hurt.' He commented as he pushed himself off the ground then the blond turned to look at Sasuke, who was waiting patiently for him. Rage boiled inside of him. 'How dare that idiot look smug while using the power of that snake-teme.' The Kyuubi sensed that he should up his chakra, against his jailer's wishes. The fox smiled smugly.

'**After this dosage you'll be like him, power hungry**.'

The whisker marks on Naruto's face grew deeper, his canines enlarged themselves, becoming razor sharp fangs, his fingernails turned into claws and his eyes turned from a beautiful blue to a powerful red with his pupils becoming cat-like slits. The red chakra formed around him, cracks appeared in the ground as the power surrounded him. Ears formed in the bubbling red chakra as did a long tail from behind, Naruto crouched down on all fours like a feral beast. He was in power now as he leaped onto Hashirama's stone head.

"_**This has gone on long enough Sasuke-teme. I'm bringing you back, even if I have to break every single bone in your body to do so**_!" The jinchuriki snarled as the Uchiha held out his left hand.

Lightning chakra began to congregate on his hand, instead of chirping brids, it became a cascade of flapping wings as the chidori took effect, becoming black with grey sparks. "_**Habataku Chidori!**_"

"_**So be it**_" Naruto growled as he focused his chakra into his right hand, the ball of swirling chakra once again appeared, but this time it had more of a reddish tint. Deciding if he couldn't get the job done, there was no way in hell Sasuke would be able to run to Orochimaru. Using his left hand he made a smaller Rasengan, it was unstable, but the Kyuubi's chakra helped keep it in place.

The two stared at each other, as were the two statues of the two greatest men in Shinobi history, apart from the Rikudou Sennin. It was as if an invisible hand started the fight, Naruto leapt at Sasuke while he flew at Naruto. The rushing sound of the waterfall couldn't be heard as their attacks roared. The pair collided once again, but the damage was inevitable.

The last Uchiha landed on the Konoha side of the ravine in a heap, his right leg was torn off and he had a small graze on his left hip. All that was left of his leg was a bloody stump.

Naruto landed on the opposite side of the ravine. A massive chunk was taken out of the right side of his body; it looked like a wolf had chomped right through it and ran off. Naruto coughed up a lot of blood as he fell backwards into the freezing cold river below.

XXX

About three hundred metres away Kakashi Hatake stiffened, the chakra from both boys hit him like a ton of bricks as did the killing intent. Pakkun, one of his summon hounds felt it too.

"**We better hurry up Kakashi, before one of them dies.**" The little pug said as he dashed off, Kakashi silently agreed with him as he followed.

The pair leapt out of a tree and surveyed the area, there was only one body, Sasuke Uchiha. "Pakkun, find Naruto!" Kakashi demanded as he ran over to Sasuke. There was a lot of blood pooling around the last Uchiha, Kakashi knew if he died the council _will_ have his head for this. He reached into a pouch on his flak jacket and pulled out some basic field dressings, applying them to the unconscious Uchiha's leg. When the stump was covered he looked around for Pakkun, the pug was sitting on the edge of the ravine. Kakashi walked over to him.

"I lost the scent here, from what I could smell, he jumped up there," The pug indicated to the statue. "Then they launched themselves at each other, Naruto landed over there and then he fell into the river. Either he's dead or still fighting for his life in a weakened state. I'm sorry Kakashi, either way the boys a goner." Pakkun put a paw onto Kakashi's leg before 'poofing' away in a cloud of smoke back to his world. Kakashi molded his chakra.

"**Kage Bushin no Justu.**" Several shadow clones appeared in a cloud of smoke. "Find Naruto, run up and down this ravine if you have to. If you can't find him by morning… give up."

"Hai!" The clones saluted before sprinting away. The copy nin walked back over to the still unconscious Uchiha. Lying next to him was a hitai-ate, broken in half. He picked it up and sniffed at it lightly, it smelt of ramen. 'At least he kind of kept his promise to Sakura, even if he didn't do it personally.' Kakashi sighed, this day couldn't get any worse. Then it started to rain, the heavens crying for their lost hero.

XXX

**Some 300kilometres away from the Valley of the End**

A girl sat on the edge of the island bank. She was roughly twelve years old, long black hair, chocolate brown eyes and an angelic face, and she was currently wearing a pale yellow dress. The girl was patting a small black puppy that lay on her lap. Behind her, her mother was hanging their clothes on the line to dry. They lived roughly about where the old village of Uzushiogakure no Sato was, just off the west coast of Hi no Kuni, where Konohagakure no Sato was and to the far east of Mizu no Kuni.

The girl looked out at the mass of land known as Hi no Kuni, there was no-one to play with on the island, since they all were grownups or too young to play. The dog on the girls lap started to bark, startling her, he then jumped off her lap and started running down to the beach, curious, she followed.

It didn't take long to find out what the dog was barking at. She screamed. Her mother heard the scream and ran to her, when she got there she nearly fainted out of shock. A body lay on the sand with blood slowly staining the golden grains from the large hole in the side of his body.

"M-mummy w-what d-do we do with i-it?" The girl held onto her mothers' dress. Her mother removed the terrified girls' hands from her dress and slowly crept towards the body.

It was a young boy, his lips were deathly blue, his face was pale and the hole in his side was ragged, covered in salt and sand. He had blond hair which stuck up everywhere, he wore an orange jacket with blue shoulders, with a huge gaping hole ripped through it and a pair of orange pants, mesh clothing was beneath a black shirt and he was wearing one blue sandal. The woman gingerly poked the boy with a finger and jumped back in fright when he opened an eye, revealing a startling blue.

"P-please… h-help…" He said before going unconscious. The woman picked up the boy and started walking back to her house.

"Go get the doctor please Haru." She said to her daughter.

"H-hai." Haru replied before running off to the village to find the local doctor.

**Konoha**

Tsunade Senju wasn't happy, she was tired and pissed off.

'That stupid Uchiha kid had to run off to that stupid snake-teme.' She spat as she sipped her sake. The buxom blond had just spent the last few hours patching up members of Sasuke's retrieval team. Choji Akamichi was now stable after he used of his clan's three secret pills, which was a close call since the only cure for using them had been in the Nara clan's archives, considering the close relations between the Nara's, Akamichi's and the Yamanaka.

Neji Hyuuga was also another close call. Stab wounds were found all over his body as it was clearly evident that it was caused by arrows and kunai, since she had to remove an arrow from his shoulder. 'So much for the mighty Byakugan.' The female Hokage reminisced.

Shikamaru Nara was fine except for a broken finger, it would have been much worse if she hadn't sent out for the Suna kids, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro. Kiba and Akamaru were in his sister Hana's care since she was a vet to treat the puppy and Kiba was relatively fine.

Now all Tsunade could do at the moment was wait for the idiot blond to bring back the traitor. No sooner had she said that, Kakashi entered the hospital ward carrying the unconscious Uchiha and a snivelling fangirl. Tsuande ignored them and looked Kakashi.

"Where's Naruto?" Kakashi looked down at the linoleum floor and shook his head. Tsunade's heart broke in two as she dropped to the floor and started to cry. 'First Nawaki, then Dan and now the gaki. That necklace is a curse.'

Shizune Kato, who was Tsunade's apprentice, was just in the other room and came out when she heard the soft cries of her teacher. After a few moments the tears stopped, and she watched as Tsunade's face was contorted into rage.

Kakashi knew he'd better get Sasuke away from her and started to run down the hall while Shizune grabbed Tsunade's arm.

"Let me go Shizune, I need to kill the Uchiha brat, because there is no way in hell I'm treating him!" Shizune tried to hold her as her teacher started to move.

"Now's not the time for this, remember the oath you took when you became a Medical Ninja?" Tsunade looked at her apprentice, scaring the girl.

"I know that oath Shizune, I pretty much created it. But that isn't going to stop me from killing the Uchiha," Killing intent was washing off the woman in waves. "You know the saying an eye for an eye? Well I'm gonna rip out his soul for what he did to Naruto."

Shizune was shocked. Glancing around, she realised that Naruto wasn't with them. She released her grip for just a second and that second was all Tsunade needed to escape.

**A/N  
Hope you enjoy, fixed it up, but kept mostly the same. Onwards to the new glory known as Rise of the Uzukage. Ja ne**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Konohagakure no Sato**

Kakashi Hatake had successfully hidden Sasuke in one of the hospital rooms in the safety of a few medic-nin. He figured he'd be able to get some minor treatment before Tsunade got a hold of him. Or none at all as a fist punched through the flimsy door. Knowing that there's the chance that he was about to die, Kakashi lifted up his headband off his left eye revealing the Sharingan.

The door crashed to the floor as it was kicked down, followed by an pissed off Tsunade as she stormed into the room. She glared at Kakashi who was standing in her way.

"Move it Hatake," She growled, but Kakashi shook his head. "I'd hate to lose someone as good as you Kakashi, but at this moment I'm Judge, Jury and Executioner. That boy," Tsunade pointed to the unconscious Uchiha. "Is a traitor to Konoha, by trying to defect to an enemy of Konoha and killing a fellow ninja. I find Sasuke Uchiha guilty and his punishment, death."

Kakashi shook his head again, he still wouldn't budge, he knew he was protecting a traitor, but as his friend once said, 'Those who abandon the mission are trash, but those who abandon a comrade are worse than trash'.

Although she was pretty pissed, the killing intent Tsunade was releasing weakened a bit as she smirked. Kakashi gulped as she smiled, one of the Sannin smiling while leaking that much KI, it would suck to be that person. Tsunade took a step towards Kakashi and pointed at his forehead. He quickly took a step back as her finger flicked, but while he was focused on her finger, he didn't notice her foot coming for his chin.

Kakashi might has been one of the best, but even the best can fall for a feint as he was kicked through the window that was behind him.

The killing intent was increased by ten-fold as Tsunade eyed the still unconscious Uchiha. The medic-nin that were attending to him dropped to the floor as the pressure built. The Godaime walked slowly towards Sasuke, one of the medics looked at the woman and proceeded to lose his lunch as her hands started to glow blue and become sharp.

Sasuke stirred, slowly opening his eyes he turned to look at the person throwing out the massive KI, upon seeing who it was he snapped his eyes open and threw himself off the bed. As soon as his foot touched the ground he tried to bolt, but ended up face first into the hospital wall. He landed hard on the floor and looked at his legs to see why he couldn't run.

His face turned pale when he realised he only had one leg and that he was going to die a horrible, painful and gruesome death. With nothing to defend himself with he crawled backwards, trying to get away from the _monster_. He soon found his back against the wall.

An Uchiha never feared anything, but this, this was a kind of evil that could have only been created by years of pain and suffering, wanting to kill everything that took the thing precious to them. The last time Sasuke felt something like this was when his older brother Itachi massacred the family, but that time he was spared, this time… nothing could save him, not even himself.

Tsunade stepped closer and closer, savouring the fear the brat was producing. She didn't enjoy doing stuff like this, but this time, she had an exception. Just for effect she released chakra from every pore on her body, soon she was surrounded in a blue haze of chakra. It would've had more effect if someone figured out a way to colour your chakra, because Tsunade's would be blood red and boiling.

Tsunade stopped right in front of Sasuke and slowly reached for his neck, then the smell of urine hit her nose. The Uchiha pissed himself out of fear, priceless. She grinned evilly as she continued to reach for him, he put his hands in front of his face in a desperate attempt to keep her away.

The door flew open as four ANBU burst in, causing Tsunade to turn and glare at them. Though she couldn't see past their mask's, all four of them were sweating. Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane stood behind the ANBU, although still scared out of their wits because of the Hokage's KI still in effect.

"Tsunade that enough!" Homura yelled behind the safety of their guards. Tsunade stood straight and faced them, her chakra disappearing but not the KI. Sasuke had passed out, second time lucky to escape from death. Well third if Kakashi hadn't found them in time.

"Tch, I was wondering how long it would take for you two to show up." She said as she crossed her arms and glared at the two council advisors. The ANBU stepped aside to allow the council members into the room, although they were hesitant.

"Sorry to disappoint, we came as soon as we heard the Uchiha was through the gates and on his way to hospital." Koharu replied.

"If only you got here a bit later, you would have found your precious last Uchiha in pieces around this very room." Tsunade growled. The two council members had their mouths open in shock.

"You wouldn't, that's against the Shinobi law!" Koharu yelled.

"True, but that rule doesn't extend to the enemies of Konoha."

"On what charges is the last Uchiha on?" Homura demanded. Tsunade turned her glare to him, causing Homura to take a step back in fear.

"Endangering the lives of fellow Shinobi, attempting to defect to another village, attempting to join an S-rank missing ninja, attacking a fellow Shinobi and killing a fellow Shinobi in cold blood. By law these all stipulate to treason against the village of Konohagakure no Sato. If any other member of the retrieval team I sent died, those would also be on him." Tsunade pointed at the passed out Uchiha. "And currently, you both would along with Kakashi and the ANBU currently in here would also be countered for treason, aiding a known traitor." Both councillors snapped their mouths shut, even though Sasuke was the last of his bloodline, going against the Hokage was not a smart move. But one had to ask.

"Which member of the retrieval team was killed?" Koharu asked, by looking at Tsunade she should have said nothing.

"Naruto Uzamaki, even though there was no body found, there's a high chance that he is gone. Thankfully, he did bring back the Uchiha, so I can kill him myself." The killing intent increased once again as Tsunade turned to Sasuke.

Even though this moment of time was dangerous, in Koharu's and Homura's mind they were dancing with joy. They knew the Kyuubi brat was trouble, ever since when the Sandaime announced it twelve years ago, they along with plenty of others wanted to kill the baby to rid the world of the demon, but they kept it quiet as did the others. Many assassination attempts were made, but all were thwarted, due to coincidence and the Kyuubi's healing powers they became aware of. Now that he was gone, the village could prosper even more.

Tsunade turned to see why the pair haven't tried to stop her yet. They were smiling like two fat kids in a candy store.(no offence to anyone and Choji on that matter) Why hadn't she realised it earlier, here were another two that despised Naruto.

The section of the roof above them ripped open as a wave of chakra burst from Tsunade, her killing intent forced everybody in the building to either pass out or have mass hysteria. The medic-nins were unconscious in their own piles of puke, the councillors were on the ground weeping and the ANBU tried to hold their ground but were slowly succumbing to hysteria as they thought of many gruesome ways to die by the Hokage's hand.

As soon as it started it had stopped. Tsunade lay on the linoleum floor as Kakashi stood above her, his face covered in sweat. It had taken every fibre of his being to try and not succumb to the KI, and he knew he was going to regret it when Tsunade found out it was him who hit her from behind.

**Uzu no Kuni**

Naruto opened his eyes slowly, everything was blurry and his body was killing him. He winced as he tried to sit up but the pain kept him down. 'What the hell happened?' He wondered as he looked around. The walls were wooden panels with paintings of the ocean and different landmasses and fish hanging on the walls. He was lying on something soft so it was either a futon or a couch; the high back signified the latter.

Closing his eyes and breathing deeply, and ignoring the pain, Naruto thought about the last thing he remembered. Red and purple, black lightning and chakra, a waterfall and two massive statues. His eyes snapped open instantly, 'Sasuke!'

"Ah, you're awake," A soft voice spoke next to him, "that was quite the fight you must have had Mr Ninja." Naruto turned to the speaker, it was a girl roughly a few years younger than him, long raven-coloured hair, big brown eyes and an angelic face which made him wonder how old she was.

'Just like Haku…' He commented to himself. Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out and his throat was killing him. 'How long have I been out?' The girl stood up and left the room saying something about getting water. He thought about going to see the Kyuubi and why the hell he wasn't healed yet, but that could wait until he knew what was happening.

The girl soon came back with a glass of water, he allowed her to place the glass to his lips while he slowly gulped down the clear liquid. "T-thanks…" Naruto said as he licked his dry lips, "Where am I?"

The girl sat on a wooden chair just in front of the couch, the various bowls and red bandages littered around it. "You are on one of the beaches on the island of Uzu… which is amazing since whirlpools pop up randomly around the island, dragging down boats and people." She spoke in a carefree way, this must have been a common occurrence. "Because of that we are mostly self-sufficient and trade with valuable ores that the island contains… I'm sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself, my name is Haru Raishi and this is my house, along with my mum, Kyoki Raishi."

Naruto smiled weakly, "Naruto Uzumaki, future Kage of Konohagakure."

"Uzumaki? Are you one of the survivors children from Uzushio?"

Naruto shook his head, "I don't know, I'm an orphan so I never met my parents… so, how long have I been here?"

"Around a week now, it's been touch and go apparently, I think you died at some point because you stopped breathing. If you didn't know there is a huge chunk of you missing, I'm wondering how the bandages are supporting you and how you're still alive." Haru mentioned casually, and just a week ago she was terrified of the dead body she found, which is technically not dead.

The blond grimaced, a week and he was still like this, the fox must be having difficulties healing him due to the limitations of the seal. Frankly he was surprised he was still alive himself, either the Kyuubi hasn't given up escaping or a higher being didn't want him dead. "Thanks Haru, if you don't mind I'm going to sleep…"

Haru nodded and yawned herself, it was starting to get pretty late. She stood up and left the room while Naruto closed his eyes to sleep, he would check with the fox tomorrow, if he could.

While Naruto slept, Kyuubi was straining himself to start creating skin to cover the massive hole before he could start filling it with the appropriate pieces. Fusing pieces of skin together was simple and easy, because it was there. Creating it from scratch was difficult, then as was the rest of Naruto to make sure the organs that needed replacing functioned like they should. Kyuubi growled to himself, the stupid seal only allowed minute amounts through and he could only pour more when the host was angry.

But it was more complex than that, since the chakra he was trying to heal with was still apart of him, the seal thought it needed to be stopped and allowed a small amount to trickle through, if he just separated himself from his chakra, it would flood him, yet become his and leave Kyuubi with nothing, theoretically.

'**Damn, that would be the only solution to this problem, not to mention the Akatsuki after me, by the time the Kit heals it would be twenty years at this rate… it needs to be cut down to at least three… so be it. Rest up Kit, once you are moving about with ease, the training begins.**'

Kyuubi closed his blood red eyes and started to leak his youkai away from him, causing him to shrink smaller and smaller until he was the size of Tora. The red chakra sifted through the seal and spread around his whole body, congregating where the most damage was down. Luckily the youkai had the Kyuubi's essence so they started to form new organs and such from his memories, and began to alter his body.


	3. Chapter 2

**Rise of the Uzukage**

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer – Naruto is owned by Masahi Kishimoto**

**Konoha**

Tsunade opened her brown eyes, revealing a white ceiling. The various smells hit her nose, mostly disinfectant and blood, she knew where she was, still in hospital, her own room. The sound of scratching could be heard nearby, she turned her head and it was Jiraiya, writing in his notebook, sensibly for once. Tsunade groaned as she sat up, briefly checking herself for anything… odd.

"He had a good reason to do it." The Toad Sannin said without taking his eyes off his notebook, still writing something down. Tsunade wasn't surprised that it was Kakashi, he was a good man.

"I know Jiraiya, still, siding with the Uchiha has signed him his own death certificate." The blond sighed as Jiraiya pocketed his notebook.

"If Kakashi didn't stop you, the civilians would revolt for killing their 'saviour'. Even though the village is run by a dictatorship, we are nothing without them." Tsunade nodded her head in agreement to that, "Then we would have to choose a new Kage because you had lost your mind, they would look directly to me or Danzo, and we both know that we are bad choices." He chuckled lightly.

"That still doesn't excuse Kakashi from punishment though, the council members and the four ANBU had no idea what had happened so they're safe, for now." She growled softly, her anger slowly rising again about the two crones known as councilmembers. "For attacking a Kage the conviction would be death, he's not a missing-nin, and a light punishment would be forced resignation and jail time, as well as sessions with Ibiki and Anko…"

Jiraiya scratched his head, "From what I gathered, you should just pardon him," Tsunade gave him a quizzical look, "Technically you weren't in a right state of mind, being tired from treating the members of the retrieval team, then receiving news about Naruto being dead or missing. Your mind snapped and you went to take it out on the one who started all this mess," Her eyes looked down in shame, she did snap. "So the solution is to pardon him, with mild punishment of course."

"How are you so calm," Jiraiya tilted his head to the side, her voice was soft and close to tears, "He's gone, wether if he's alive or not, he wouldn't come back. Everything was starting to look up for him, and now… why?"

Jiraiya breathed deeply, before exhaling slowly, "His name hasn't disappeared off the summoning scroll yet, so I know he's alive. But at the same time it's good to know he can't be found, with Akatsuki and all."

"Akatsuki?"

"A group of S-ranked Shinobi, I don't know much about them, except for the fact that they are looking for the biju."

**Undisclosed Location**

Two people stood side by side in a darkened cave, along with a creature with two distinct halves of black and white with two huge leaves on each side of his head. Two gas coloured individuals stood before the three, one having purple eyes with black ripples.

"Apologies Pein-sama, we have found no evidence of the Kyuubi Jinchuriki of being alive. Currently all signs point out that he's dead," The white half of the plant person spoke, "**But it has only been a week and the possibility that he still lives should remain.**" The black half added, his yellow pupil-less staring at the spectre in front.

"Kisame," A large blue man stood straighter with his name being spoken. He had gills on his neck and spikey black hair much like Kakashi's and had a large bandaged sword on his back named Samehada (Sharkskin). "Did you search the waterways starting from the Valley of the End?"

The sharkman scratched the back of his head, "I did but the waterways are so connected it gets confusing. In the end it all leads up to the ocean, so if he's out there even I wouldn't be able to find him."

"So the most likely scenario is that the Kyuubi Jinchuriki is missing and we will remain hidden while discreetly searching for him and collecting the others. Pointless in my opinion." A long raven-haired teen spoke up, Itachi Uchiha, Kisame's partner and the clan slayer, he had dark onyx eyes, creases on the side of his face giving him an older look, he wore a black cloak with red clouds on it, the symbol of Akatsuki.

Pein remained as emotional as a Ken doll, "While you would be correct with that assumption Itachi, the Kyuubi Jinchuriki wouldn't die that easily. Search for him, you have 3 years until Gedo is ready to absorb the biju. Dismissed."

The spectal image of Pein and his partner faded from view as the plant-man melded with the Earth. Kisame cracked out his back. "What now Itachi? I'm thinking that Akatsuki is finished, we're nothing now.

Itachi closed his eyes, "If I had known things would turn out like this I would have stayed in Konoha. Regardless, find a small village far out of the way and settle down."

Kisame looked down at his short partner, "Sounds like a plan, but it's going to be a problem for me since I'm blue, large and wanted for a lot of things. Changing my appearance is harder than it looks."

"Play around in some mud then, or say you ate copper as a child and were a scarf." Itachi said as he turned to leave the cave. Akatsuki was nothing more than a group with a desire to rule the world to obtain peace, yet with no means to do it.

**Uzu no Kuni**

Naruto grunted in pain as the doctor threaded another stitch into his skin. An elderly man had died recently and the good doctor skinned him before cremating him for his family, the family didn't mind but Naruto did, he had old man skin on him. Though he had to admit it was a good piece, unblemished and close to his ex-tanned colour. No doubt because of it the Kyuubi would just heal it and fix it up to his physical make-up.

While in a conscious state, he wondered why the Kyuubi was taking so long, then he reasoned that creating new organs from scratch must be hard. Naruto wasn't dumb, it was just the fact that things don't make sense because it doesn't. He closed his eyes and focused on seeing the Kyuubi, it was more of a meditative thing that Jiraiya taught him on the way while searching for Tsunade, along the Rasengan and dispelling Genjutsu by stopping his chakra flow.

'Stopping the flow?' Naruto thought about that, during the Chunin Exam while facing Neji, he had his tenketsu closed, they were like a tap that allowed chakra to flow through, the Hyūga use that as their combat technique, rendering their opponent useless. With the furballs help he had unsealed them and won the match, only due to Neji's arrogance and sheer unpredictability.

Hanging around Shizune when he was in hospital for whatever reason, he learnt that the circulatory system that carried blood around the body was similar to the chakra system, so what if blood had tenketsu points as well? Naruto focused a little harder and appeared in his mindscape.

The blond stood on top of muddy/bloody water, large pipes running along the walls and ceiling. A large golden gate stood in front of him with a small piece of paper that said **SEAL**. He peered into darkness, not seeing the normal massive form of the fox. 'Maybe he's deeper inside, not like I know how large it is.'

"Hey furball, you in there?" Naruto yelled out, a few seconds passed and nothing happened. He stepped closer towards the cage, being cautious because last time he got close, Kyuubi tried to swipe him. He was right in front of the cage and still no movement. Naruto peered even closer and noticed a small ball of fur curled up further in. "Feh, furball. Kyuubi get out here, we need to talk."

The furball twitched, "_**Shut it, your voice has a displeasing pitch.**_" The voice was like a mouse squeak, not deep and menacing like usual. The fur stood up and stretched out, revealing it to be the Kyuubi, with only one tail.

Naruto stared, a comeback on his tongue, "You're one to talk, pipsqueak." He then burst out laughing, falling into the actually shallow water. Kyuubi's eyebrow twitched as he watched the blond.

"_**Why are you rolling in water laughing? I don't see anything amusing, so SHUT UP!**_" Kyuubi's outburst made Naruto laugh even harder, making some of the water splash over the fox, water-logging his fur.

Then it dawned on him, he was soaking wet from a little bit of water, the blond was much larger, as were the cage bars. He looked down and around himself, he was no bigger than the average house cat. "_**You've got to be joking… well, shit.**_"

The great Kyuubi no Yoko, was reduced to a chibi.

Kyuubi growled as he padded through the bars of the cage, not surprised that they didn't stop him. He leapt and chomped down on Naruto's leg.

"Owch. What the hell?" Naruto yelled out as he threw the fox off his leg, there wasn't any damage, just pain. "How the hell are you out of your cage? And why a/re you so small?"

Kyuubi yawned before scratching his left ear with his leg, "_**I don't know, the most simplest thing I can think of is that the seal holds back biju sized chakra, as of this moment, I have none. I'm about as dangerous as a leaf, well not quite.**_" As an example he swiped at Naruto's foot, scratching his toes, who quickly pulled away. "_**The reason I'm so small, with a guess is that when I parted with my chakra or youkai, it took my size with it since I'm mostly made up of said substance. Once I was a regular fox and the Rikudou Sennin used me to store roughly 40% of the Juubi's chakra. You do realise the things I'm telling you is relevant right?**_" Naruto nodded his head, this was the first time the Kyuubi was open and not, malicious. "_**Right then, the rest of the chakra is split up between eight other biju, you met Shukaku, who has a measly 4-6%, but that doesn't mean he isn't dangerous.**_" The blond winced, he knew first hand as he fought the biju. He had a funny feeling that it didn't go all out due to having Gaara as its medium. "_**The strongest next to me would be Gyūki, the eight-tails, who I'm guessing has been sealed as well, he would have roughly 15-20% and so on and so forth.**_"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, it made sense to him. "Basically, all jinchuriki are dangerous because of the biju sealed inside of them?" Kyuubi nodded in affirmation. "Ne… what's your name? I know Shukaku and Gyūki, but what's yours?"

Kyuubi smiled, well a toothy grin that scared Naruto. "_**I'll tell you when I think you're ready. Now, what did you originally come here for?**_" The blond pouted.

"Don't change the subject," He then sighed, if Kyuubi didn't want to talk he couldn't do anything about it. "What I wanted to know is how come I'm still alive, because a normal person wouldn't have been able to survive what happened to me."

"_**Hmm, true. Only the most skilled medic-nins can attest to this, there is a Tenketsu system, just like in chakra, but for blood veins. They are near impossible to find, but if you can, you can shut them down. If the Hyūga found out about it, then they would get wiped out due to fear, even though they are fearsome enough already. What I did was I shut down the ones that were leaking out of that hole in you, redirecting the flow to the organs that were still in use. You are missing a few of them but they will be recreated within a year or two, no pressure.**_"

Naruto was then ejected from his mind while Kyuubi sauntered back into his cage. With nothing else he allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

**Otogakure**

"Kabuto…" A man with deathly pale skin and long black hair hissed calmly.

Said person pushed up his large round glasses, "Hai, Orochimaru-sama?" He asked carefully, no doubt he wanted to know about Sasuke.

"It'ss been a week, Sasuke-kun issn't here and neither are the Ssound Four as well as Kimimaro. Where are they?" He demanded, clenching the stone-arm chair he was sitting on.

"All I know Orochimaru-sama, is that Sasuke Uchiha was severely injured on his way here and was taken back to Konoha by Kakashi Hatake." The snake sannin slammed his fist down onto the arm, creating a medium dent, his fist slightly broken and bleeding.

His current plans ruined he closed his eyes and thought up another while Kabuto started to heal his hand.

**Konoha**

Tsunade sat in the Hokage's seat within the council chambers. The Kage's chair faced three tiers of seating, the first row was civilian council, no-one knows how they got a say in Shinobi matters. The second row was for the Clan Heads and the final tier for the three 'esteemed' elders, Koharu, Homura and Danzo.

Thankfully the civilian council was absent since this had absolutely nothing to do with them. Tsunade cracked her neck slightly and tried not to reach for the sake bottle next to her chair, hidden by the desk. "Let's get this meeting started, it's a pain but formalities please."

One by one the clan heads stood and announced their names and clan.

"Tsume from the Clan Inuzuka." Tsume had long spikey brown hair, her eyes had vertical slit pupils and she wore dark purple lipstick and was dressed in the standard jounin outfit. Her partner Kuromaru sat beside her, a large grey wolf with an eye-patch and a missing left ear. He was one of the few ninken that could speak in the human tongue.

"Shibi from Clan Aburame." The soft voice of Shibi spoke up, he had spikey black hair, black glasses, black pants, a large tan overcoat and a gourd on his back. All Aburame were quite folk, enjoying their solitude and small communities.

"Chouza from Clan Akamichi." A booming voice echoed through the room, Chouza like all Akamichi was a very large man built from fat and a lot of muscle, he had long red hair and the swirls on his cheeks. He wore a samurai like outfit which was a black bodysuit with brown and green armour with the kanji for 'food' on the chest.

"Inoichi from Clan Yamanaka." A man with long blond hair tied in a ponytail stood up next, he wore the standard Jounin uniform and a red sleeveless coat over the top. The Yamanaka were mind specialists, using mind techniques for combat, infiltration and interrogation.

"Shikaku, Clan Nara." A drowsy moan came from the table, Shikaku had his head down on the table, barely awake. Shikaku had dark hair tied up into a spikey ponytail, two scars on the right side of his face, a goatee and wore a mesh shirt underneath a deep green flak jacket with a deerskin coat over the top. The dark green flak signifies his position as Jounin Commander, which means he directs Shinobi forces during wars or times of crisis.

"Hiashi from Clan Hyūga." Hiashi was a cold stiff, a mandatory within the main branch of the Hyūga Clan. He had long black hair, pure white eyes and wore loose fitting robes and a brown long-sleeved haori.

"Koharu Utatane, Council Elder." An old lady, still kicking, Koharu wore a long, simple kimono that was closed by an obi, a jacket with a sash crossing over it.

"Homura Mitokado, Council Elder." Homura wore essentially looking kage robes, he had spikey grey hair, green rimmed glasses and a beard.

Danzo also sat with the Elders, but he technically had no say in council proceedings and sometimes gave his opinion. He wore a white shirt with a blackish-grey robe flowing from his right shoulder to his feet. He had a bandage covering the right side of his head, and the robe also covered his right arm which was also heavily bandaged. He had shaggy black spikey hair and an X-shaped scar on his chin.

Tsunade motioned her hand and the Clan heads sat, except for Shikaku who didn't even move from his seat. "Very well, let us properly begin the meeting. This past week has been hell, dealing with a small influx of missions, political bullshit and fixing up the team I sent to bring back Sasuke Uchiha. We has a close call with Chouji, Neji and Lee, but luckily they're fine as you know. In light of this, Sasuke is no longer considered a ninja of Konohagakure." Those in attendance looked at their Hokage, did she sound, happy about that?

Shikaku actually raised his head, though he wasn't surprised about this, when one deserts from a village they become the enemy since they now plans and secrets that no-one outside knows, they become a liability and have to be taken out. "I understand the reason for him not being a ninja anymore, he's unstable, but he seriously couldn't have taken them out by himself."

Tsunade mentally blanked, did she forget to tell them that Sasuke had help from Orochimaru? "Well Shikaku, Clan Heads, Sasuke had help escaping from Orochimaru, which I thought you had at least heard. Five of Orochimaru's best had assisted Sasuke, but they were taken out one by one by our genin and new chunin. The fights were one on one and nearly devastating, luckily Suna had sent the help I requested and they helped to take out two of them. There was one who died on his own from a disease that ravaged his body, a Kaguya, the last one. From there is unknown as they headed back to Konoha, leaving Uzumaki to get Sasuke."

The council kept quiet, this was news to them. They had only heard from their kids or not heard at all, except Danzo, he knew it all.

"With that, Jiraiya!" Tsunade yelled out and a large shadow stepped out from the darkness, the Toad Sannin stood next to her. Jiraiya was a large man that had long white hair, spiked, he wore a kabuki get up, had a large scroll on his back, face markings and wooden sandals, a unique individual. "Send in Kakashi and Sasuke."

This caused a murmur through the chamber, what did Kakashi have to do with it. Jiraya motioned his hand the door opened revealing an ANBU operative leading in a scared looking Kakashi and Sasuke hobbling in on crutches. This caused a larger murmur, Kakashi being scared was something they thought impossible and Sasuke had a leg missing.

"We'll start with you Hatake. In light of your actions against me and helping a traitor to the village, which both would be considered treasonous, you are sentenced to two months community service. No missions, no Icha Icha and no tardiness. This might be lifted when your services are required, but will be reinstated afterwards." Kakashi dropped his head in a short nod. In his mind he was dancing for joy, he had gotten off lightly… kind of. Community service was defiantly no fun, he was basically a glorified handy-man for anyone and rumour has it that the sewerage drains were backing. And no Icha Icha for two months, that was torture enough. Kakashi stepped back as the ANBU pushed Sasuke forward, the look on his face was priceless and Tsunade glared at him.

"Now little Uchiha, your brother would be proud of you, dragging the name through the mud some more, but that is neither here or there, you now stand on trial. Does anyone have anything to say or defend him with?" Tsunade looked around the room, she already knew none of the clan heads would say anything, he's the reason some of them nearly died. The only people would say anything is Danzo and his two cronies, but none of them moved. "Very well, Sasuke Uchiha. You have attempted to defect from a village while in military service, you endangered, attacked, damaged and even killed to get what you want. As you aren't of age I can't force the appropriate clauses when it comes to clans, forced reproduction before execution. Until then I shall rob you of power, status and possessions, you are to be thrown into the maximum ANBU cells with your chakra sealed. You will never see the light of day again, your compound and all its contents are now property of the Hokage. You are no longer a clan member since you are the last and under my jurisdiction, the clan Uchiha is no more. Take him away."

Sasuke dipped his head in shame and rage, but he didn't regret any of it. Orochimaru wanted him, so he would be rescued in due time. It was just the matter of waiting, Itachi can wait, he's young and by the time they fight, he would be victorious. Sasuke snapped his head up and glared at the Hokage, giving a little smirk as he was bound by the ANBU operative. He had all the time in the world.

The occupants watched as the clearly insane Sasuke was escorted out, Tsunade picked up the sake bottle that she was hiding, uncorked it and drank, enjoying the burning liquid. Shikaku looked around, the people all had the same look, who did Sasuke kill? He thought about it, seven were sent and only six came back, all clan heirs except Lee. "Tsunade-sama, I probably already know, but it was Naruto, wasn't it?"

Tsunade skulled the rest of the bottle and slammed it on the table, causing the fragile glass to shatter. She tilted her head forward, hair covering her eyes. "Dismissed." This cemented the fact for everyone as they filed out. Most of the Heads like the boy, he was keeping back the one thing that nearly destroyed them, not to mention he had either helped their families in one way or another.

One thing remained above all, Konoha would never be the same without Naruto.


	4. Chapter 3

**Rise of the Uzukage**

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer – Sadly I don't own Naruto, but Masahi Kishimoto (Evil Man)**

**Konoha**

It had only been a week and Kakashi was already sick of his punishment, despite the fact that he got off lightly. His actions in the past few weeks, no matter how noble or emotional they were, landed him in deep shit, and literally as well.

The rumours that the sewerage system backing up underneath Konoha were true, and guess who whose responsibility it was to clear and repair the pipes, yep, him. So here he was trudging along the alleyways back to his apartment where he would have a nice, long hot shower with steel wool and the most powerful body wash he had. Kakashi had cleared the blockages and fixed a few of the main and sub pipes when it hit three o'clock, when the network of pipes purge each day to the waste plant where it would be turned into fertilizer for the Forest of Death.

He was stuck in the sewers during purge hour, something most would pity him for. So he wound up in the Forest of Death, exiting from an emergency grate within the tower, even more covered in filth and waste then he was beforehand. The fluoro flak jacket he wore – that wasn't fluoro any more – and his silvery-grey hair was now filthy brown. It didn't help that his mask absorbed the stench and dampness, Kakashi swore he would die from the diseases and stench. On his way out of the forest the animals avoided him, they didn't even want to be within 200 metres of him, and even the giant dung beetles ran away.

During his current week service, he had successfully managed to avoid friends and most colleagues, especially a certain purple haired kunoichi that would be having a field day with him. Kakashi pulled his special headband aside and a key dropped from it. The plate on the hitai-ate had the symbols 公役 on it which translated to public service, thankfully he got to keep the cloth which he had modified to hold his house keys and some lock picks.

He fumbled with the lock to his door, it was purposely wrecked people couldn't break in, even with the key. Kakashi sighed as the door open, today just sucked over all. The light filtered in behind him and barely lit up his place, just the way he liked it, dark. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him, as he did the lamp next to his favourite chair turned itself on, revealing Anko Mitarashi, the purple devil herself with a huge 'shit-eating' grin.

Kakashi groaned as his head dropped, a small tear welling up. "Well fuck."

XXX

**Otogakure**

Orochimaru paced along the stone floor, clearly pissed. The occasional snake would drop from the sleeves of his robe and hide in the shadows, cowering in fear of their master's rage. Kabuto kept his distance, though it would do little if the Snake Sannin decided to lash out, which he did. An Oto Shinobi made the mistake on shun-shinning into the room, right next to Orochimaru, he barely had time to register the shun-shin completing before a vice like hand gripped his neck and crushed it, snapping his vertebrae. The Sannin cursed to himself as he dropped the body to the floor, it was a spy that he sent to Konoha. 'Note to self, send more than one.'

Another Shinobi shunshin'd into the room, but this one appeared next to Kabuto. The Nin whispered something into his ear and then disappeared. Orochimaru raised his eyebrow in expectancy.

Kabuto pushed up his glasses, making them reflect the light in a way so you couldn't see his eyes, "I took the liberty of sending a few more, just in case," The Sannin nodded slightly, he was pleased that Kabuto had the forethought. "They have found out some interesting things, Sasuke is being held in the deepest part of maximum ANBU prison, renounced of everything, even heritage. When he comes of age he will be forced impregnate so that the line would live on and then be publicly executed. Finally he has no chance of escaping on his own, every drop of his chakra has been sealed, and the cursed seal pretty much useless and he only has one leg, sheared off by something powerful."

Orochimaru's body shook violently, he kicked the dead Oto-nin at his feet, the body slamming into the stone wall before ricocheting off and landing in a heap. A larger snake appeared and swallowed the ninja whole before sliding off back into the darkness. Orochimaru screamed to the heavens, "TSUNADE YOU FUCKING BITCH!"

XXX

Tsunade sneezed violently, causing a minor case of whiplash. Figuring she was getting a cold she turned and closed the window, hearing a nice crunch sound.

"OUCH!" Tsunade looked up and saw Jiraiya comically trying to rescue his hands from the heavy window pane. She gently laughed before lifting up the window again and allowing him in before closing it.

"There is a thing called a door, maybe use it? You know, like a normal person?" Jiraiya just deadpanned, "I forgot, you're anything but normal." Tsunade sat in her chair and swivelled around slightly, it hurt that Naruto was gone, but she was Hokage and had a village to run.

Jiraiya rubbed his hands gingerly as he sat on the desk, "That hurts Hime. Anyway I'm here to tell you two things, number one, the Akatsuki," Tsunade gestured him to continue as she pulled out a bottle of sake and two glasses. "In the past few weeks they have just disappeared, not a trace and they were lying pretty low before and only small groups of people knew about them. Currently, only two men wearing black robes with red clouds have been seen, doing nothing spectacular, unless you count the odd body or two."

"So what? Are they bounty hunters or something?" Jiraiya nodded as he accepted a glass from Tsunade. "Well shit then, sooner or later they're going to go after Asuma."

The Toad Sannin cocked his head to the side, "Why would they do that?"

"Asuma was one of the Twelve Ninja Guardians to the fire Daimyo, which alone has given him a bounty of 35-million ryo, dead."

Jiraiya whistled, that was a huge sum, but he made more off Icha Icha. "I'd hate to see how much it is alive, Asuma would know just about everything about the Daimyo, guards, entrances, schedules, despite the fact that it was like six years ago."

"Exactly, so what's the second thing you wanted to tell me?" Tsunade drank from the bottle as Jiraiya spoke, causing her to spit out the drink.

"The gaki is still alive."

**Uzu no Kuni**

Naruto lay on the couch, as the Kyuubi said, his wounds were steadily healing but not at the pace he wanted. He needed to get back to Konoha, everyone must think he's dead and miss him. He knew Ero-sennin wouldn't give up until he found him, dead or alive and he'd do the same for him. He hadn't known the man long, but he had taught him the most aside from Iruka-sensei, he'd dare say a kind of father figure, a very, very, very perverted one at that.

Naruto stopped his train of thought as a chair appeared next to him and Haru sat down. The girl was only one or two years younger than him and fairly intelligent, despite being raised in the middle nowhere. He waited for her to begin talking, even though he was a loudmouth, he was considerate. Naruto watched as she opened and closed her mouth, deciding what to say. During his stay here they hadn't talked much due to him being unconscious half the time.

"What's on your mind?" The girl jumped slightly but quickly settled down.

"Umm, I-I'm just wondering about y-you, like where you're from and why you are here." She was really nervous, not that he could blame her after finding him in the state that he was and still is in.

Naruto smiled softly, he wouldn't deny her that much, he would just have to leave out the pieces about the Kyuubi. "Yeah, I can do that. My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I'm the future Hokage of Konohagakure. I like gardening and ramen, I hate traitors and those who pick on others for their insecurities…"

The pair spent the rest of the day and night talking, telling each other about themselves and stories they had heard or experienced.

XXX

Three months, three months and he still couldn't find the gaki. Jiraiya was starting to think that the Summoning Scroll was wrong, but Naruto's name was still highlighted as was his while Minato's was dark, signifying he was dead. Jiraiya jumped from his current tree and landed on the soft sand of a beach.

There was always the possibility that he had been swept to sea by the multiple river connections from the Valley of the End. He could have ended up anywhere, the multiple landmasses out there were either too far to go on foot or too dangerous in general.

Jiraiya took solitude in the fact that Naruto was alive and would come back to them when he could.

XXX

Naruto gingerly lifted himself off the couch, he had only been here for only six months and was finally starting to move around, although painful. Haru grabbed his arm and helped him to his feet, he used her to balance himself. Being bedridden for six months was new for him so he had no idea what to expect.

He thanked Haru and took a few steps forward and nearly fell on his face if Haru hadn't quickly grabbed him. He smiled and took a few more steps, slowly getting better. Kyuubi had said that the ribs he was missing are now replaced and that the outer shell for his new organs have been made and just needed to be filled and functions given. The timeframe the fox originally gave was shortening considerably.

The pair had reached the front door and pushed it open, Naruto cringed at the bright light before his eyes adapted. When the light cleared from his eyes, the scenery was beautiful. The blue water lapped at the golden shore, green grass swayed in the soft wind, it was better than from the top of the Hokage Monument.

"Beautiful, simply beautiful." He exclaimed in awestruck.

Haru giggled slightly, "It is isn't it. This is the view I've woken up to each day for every day of my life." Naruto smiled, being here wasn't so bad. "Come, the elder has been waiting to meet you."

Naruto and Haru slowly made their way into the village, which was a few hundred metres away from her house, far, but not too far. The buildings were wood and brick, not very big but big enough for a family of four to live comfortably. There was the doctor's house, a small store that wasn't really needed and a large building, like an assembly or mess hall. The elder lived in a small house at the end of the village, children sat before him, listening as he told a story of the founding of the Elemental Nations and the destroyed Uzushiogakure.

The old man looked up from the children and at Naruto, his dark eyes looking at him carefully. The man had white hair, a scruffy beard with slight tinges of pink in both of them, meaning he either had pink or red hair in his youth. His jawline was still strong and he had few wrinkles. He wore dark robes that covered his body.

"So, you are the boy who washed up on our shores six months ago. Tell me boy, who was your mother?" The old man's stare was really unnerving him.

"Umm, I never met my mother, I've been an orphan since the day I was born."

"I see. What day were you born on?"

Naruto scrunched up his face. "Why do you want to know old man?"

The elder let out a small chuckle, "Humour me boy."

"October Tenth, the day the Kyuubi attacked my village." The old man's eyes opened wide to this.

"No it's not possible. Time to leave children, we'll continue tomorrow." The old man smiled kindly to the children as they shuffled on home. "Haru, you need go as well. I need to talk to this boy alone." Haru looked to Naruto who smiled softly and nodded. She took her hand off his arm and turned to leave. "Come with me boy."

The elder led Naruto into his house, who had a sinking feeling of what he was about to learn. The elder gestured a chair to Naruto who accepted gratefully. The old man set a kettle above a flame and sat down as well.

"My name is Kenji Uzumaki," He saw Naruto's eyes open wide, "I was a guard before the destruction of Uzushio, and was privy to certain information, especially when it was about Jinchuriki."

Naruto's heart seized, this man knew what he was, as he was sure that many knew that he was in Konoha and why so many despised him. "H-how you do know, HOW!"

Kenji waited a bit before responding, "Uzu had heard when the Shodaime took on Madara Uchiha who used the Kyuubi no Yoko in battle, what few know is that the Shodai's wife, Mito Uzumaki sealed the Kyuubi inside of her, making her the first Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi."

Naruto opened his eyes wide again, the rage subsiding. "So I'm not the first?"

"No, and you won't be the last. Biju are made up of chakra and are unkillable. The best we can do is seal them, which is one reason Uzu was targeted, because our fuinjutsu was the most strongest and dangerous. The art is a long one that is falling from the world because of its difficulty, but that is not the reason why I have brought you in here." Kenji stood up as the kettle started to boil.

"Then why am I here?"

Kenji poured the hot water into two cups and handed one to Naruto, "It's because of your mother, those marks on your cheeks. They are not because you are a Jinchuriki, the Kyuubi's previous hosts had no marking to signify them, certainly a minor trait, but nothing physical. It would be because you were born to a Jinchuriki,"

It didn't take much to make Naruto understand, his mother was the Kyuubi's host and she died in childbirth, releasing the Kyuubi and then it was sealed into him, it kind of made sense now. "And not just any Jinchuriki, your mother was Kushina Uzumaki, an orphaned because to the war. When Mito-sama was dying, she got her granddaughter, who had the same special chakra she did. Kushina thus became the second Jinchuriki."

"So I'm related to the Shodai and baa-chan?"

Kenji scratched his beard, "If this baa-chan your referring to is the current Hokage then yes. The Senju and Uzumaki have always been close, the spiral on Konoha's uniform is a symbol of our close ties."

Naruto looked at the old man carefully, "You're awfully well informed about the world for an old man living on an island that is supposed to be deserted."

Kenji smiled slightly, "Heh, I like you boy, you're not as stupid as you look," Naruto bristled slightly at that remark. "I have my ways, true while Uzushio is destroyed, it is still home to many of us on the island. Now before you ask I'm not your uncle, grandpa or whatever, Uzumaki was a popular last name and red hair was fairly common, not like it is nowadays."

Naruto gave the old man a small smile, still going over all the facts he had just learnt and drained the rest of his tea. Kenji finished off his tea before speaking, "I'll take you to Uzushio when you are stronger, and it is quite the trek despite the small status of the island." He reached over and took Naruto finished cup. Naruto saw past the robe and saw strong defined muscle, this man was nowhere near as frail as he appeared to be.

XXX

**Konoha**

It had been a year since Naruto's death, or so what many were led to believe. The only ones that didn't were Jiraiya, Tsunade and Kakashi. The Rookie '10' took it hard themselves, but mostly Sakura, she had lost two of the most important people in her life even if she wouldn't admit Naruto being one of them. He had been there for both of them through thick and thin and in the end they would pull through because of him.

The only other person who took it harder than her was Hinata, when she received the news she went into a state of shock that resulted in her never leaving the Hyuuga household for nearly half the year, her bedroom in fact. It took Kurenai's genjutsu skill just to get her out of her room and into the outside world. The girl truly loved him for reasons the others couldn't comprehend. But since Naruto had the thickest skull and that clan politics would never allow it, they could never be together.

Team Gai and the rest of the Rookie '10 went to the Chunin exams held in Suna, Shikamaru was one of the proctors for it so Sakura joined Ino and Chouji. Only Team Gai became Chunin as the others were taken out within the second and third stages.

Other than this the Village Hidden in the Leaves was fine, other than Ichiraku's missing their favourite customer, it was prospering all the same.

XXX

**Uzushiogakure**

Naruto brushed a branch out of his face, one that Kenji failed to mention as it whipped him. The pair had been travelling for the past three hours on foot, and he was complaining. It wasn't his fault, a whole year with no proper exercise had made him weak. Kenji just said that he was a wuss and continued on, Naruto would never understand him.

They were heading to the remains of Uzushio, something that Kenji couldn't, or wouldn't explain about and instead wanted to show him. They had travelled up and down hills and through dense forest at the same time. There was a lot of wildlife and no bandits or such anywhere as it's rare for anyone to get to Uzu with the shifting whirlpools.

"How are you doing back there?" Kenji spoke up as he ducked underneath a thick branch and avoided a patch of poison ivy.

"You're lucky I heal fast, otherwise my face would be a scratched up mess." Naruto growled softly as he did the same. This was pretty much their routine. Kenji would say something and he would comment sarcastically or angrily, depending on what he did.

"Keep your head on, we're nearly there."

"You said that an hour ago."

"Because we were, until we had to detour due to the bear dens."

"Since when did bears live in communities?"

Kenji shrugged, "Who knows, if anything it's more efficient for them."

Naruto deadpanned, "and not for us if they also hunt in packs, stupid climate change."

Kenji smiled wistfully and walked a bit faster, Naruto kept up with the aging man with mild difficulty. Kyuubi said that agitating his wounds at a time like this would set him back even further.

The sound of crashing water made him stop, the last time he had heard that sound was at the Valley of the End fighting Sasuke, 'Sasuke, hope someone got that bastard.' Naruto thought darkly as he shook his head and caught up with Kenji.

Kenji had stopped on top of a cliff, if the sharp drop meant anything and looked out over it. Naruto eyed the man as he stepped up to the edge, and gasped in shock of what he saw. Uzushiogakure, were three large 20m thick cement disks floating in mid-air, stationary of course.

The upper and lower disks, from this angle and distance were easily a kilometre long in diameter, one directly above the other with a space of roughly 500m between them. And roughly 250m between them sat a third disk, smaller than the other with a rough span of 300m.

The upper and lower disk had a hole in the centre which was a span of 500m, rope bridges connected the upper and lower donut-disk to the centre disk, the main platform to get to either. That was just the beginning, the three disks sat in the centre of a crater just approximately a few hundred metres longer than the platforms, with the crater being nearly 600m deep. To top it all off, two waterfalls on opposite ends spilled into the crater, causing the currents to form a massive whirlpool.

After Naruto's initial shock he whistled, "How the hell did this place get taken over. The 200m jump across the gap between the crater face and the highest platform is near impossible, meaning the bridges were the only way across."

Kenji nodded at Naruto's deductions, "The bridges onto the main platform were cut down since they were just wooden, but highly stable. Sadly it wasn't enough. With enough chakra and Doton skill, bridges were formed all around and we got swooped from all sides. Luckily we were able to get most of the villages into the caves before the assault, leaving behind a lot of defenders, but it wasn't enough as you can see."

Naruto did, each platform was completely covered in debris and rubble. "Is it possible to get across?" Kenji shook his head, "I see. That's a mission for another day I guess.

The blond haired Jinchuriki looked at the rubble that was once Uzushio, a village of the world's most powerful skill, fuinjutsu. He didn't know how or why, but rebuilding Uzu was the one thing Naruto wanted to do, even more than becoming Hokage.


End file.
